Decorative surface coverings are typically installed upon a building surface. Resilient flooring products are typically adhered to a sub-floor surface using adhesives. These adhesives are either applied to the sub-floor, or in the cases of resilient tile products they can be applied to the back of the tile itself by the manufacturer. Flooring products must stay in place during use conditions which can include walking forces, dragging forces, rolling load forces, indentation forces, and sub-floor movement due to dimensional instability. Flooring products must stay flat, not curl, and seams, especially between tiles, must not move or open. Because of problems with adhesives, there have been many attempts to develop flooring products that do not require adhesives. Some of these have involved using “loose lay” constructions as taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,698,258 and RE34,357. Additionally, many patents on physically interlocking tiles exist. A more recent U.S. Pat. No. 7,155,871 describes a two-sided ship-lap vinyl plank with adhesive located on the ship-lap surface. However, none of these have gained much commercial success and there remains a need for resilient decorative surface coverings that do not require adhesives.
When you look to nature for methods for adhering/holding things together, one can gain some inspiration from the gecko whose feet are equipped with fine “setae” on each toe. Each seta branches out into 1,000 even thinner stalks that are tipped with flat caps called spatulae, each about the size of a bacterium. The tentacles of the octopus contain numerous suction cups which are another example of nature's principles. Suction cups have been utilized in bath mat constructions as defined in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,014,779 and 2,081,992, and US Patent Application No. 2005/0100711. While this approach provides acceptable slip-resistance for light shower and bath mat applications, traditional suctions cups are not sufficient to provide sufficient anti-skidding forces to prevent slipping and movement in high traffic and high load areas. Traditional suction cups also result in a wavy mat surface which is more difficult for individuals and loads to traverse. The teachings of these patents have not been successfully utilized in traditional flooring products.